A1
by AnotherAvenger
Summary: Things at the Avengers base are going well, that is until Tony Stark receives a surprise that will turn his entire life upside down.
1. Chapter 1

Note: While working on this story, two friends of mine were co-writers. The three of us are all on different stages and styles of writing. I did not change any of their writings.

Sitting quietly in the Avengers Facility, Hawkeye had just gotten back from a solo mission. It wasn't anything hard for him, but it was still as annoying as ever. Practically flopping himself onto a couch in the lounge room, he shut his eyes still wearing his full gear and was out like a light bulb. Little did he know that the Scarlet Witch had seen him walk into the room. Ever since her brother's death, she had fallen into a bit of a depression. Nothing too severe but she really did miss her brother. Everyone was there for her, knowing this was hurting her but Hawkeye managed to get close to her, like a father figure. Having a new kid, Hawkeye had named him after Pietro which really did touch her. Pietro gave up his life to save not only the kid Hawkeye was trying to save, but Hawkeye too.

 _Bang!_

Tony Stark sauntered into the room, walking right by Wanda, to find Clint fast asleep on his couch.

"I see you're asleep on my couch, again, Barton," Tony announced loud enough to cause Clint to jerk awake.

"Jeez, I just got back from a mission," Clint yawned, sitting up and rubbing the back of his head.

"And I have been working in the lab all day," Tony countered Clint's excuse.

Clint rolled his eyes. "That's not the same thing, Tony."

"Upgrading wardrobe for the team is hard work, Barton. Not like you would know."

"Whatever," Clint groaned, "can you leave me alone?"

"Can you not sleep on the job?" Tony shot back.

"Can you leave me alone?" Clint repeated, his voice rising. He was becoming more annoyed by the second.

"Sorry," Tony said, "my house, my couch, my rules."

Tony didn't actually care about Clint resting on his sofa but he had spent all day upgrading the team's suits and he was bored. He didn't even particularly like messing with Hawkeye. Clint usually just got pissed off and shut down. He wasn't like Bruce, who always had a snarky comment to say back. He wasn't even like Steve, who would also get pissed off, but in a way that Tony found hilarious. And, since Pepper was out running errands, Tony had no one else to bother.

Barton was just ready to snap on Tony, but decided not to give him the pleasure of him blowing up. Looking at Stark with an unamused expression, he looked like he was going to say something until Wanda stepped on in.

"Mr. Barton, I believe the Captain wanted to see you."

Barton looked over at Wanda as she spoke. Sighing softly, she could see the dark circles under his eyes. This wasn't any ordinary nor easy job for an average person in this world. Scooting himself off the couch, he stood up on his feet. Giving Stark a slight glare, he left the room without another word.

Watching Barton leave, Wanda's eyes were now on Stark.

Tony knew for a fact that Wanda Maximoff did not like him, but he didn't let it bother him. He was used to it; a lot of people did not like Tony. Stark had overlooked her obvious hatred for him, inviting her into his home and treating her like he treated everyone else, but he rarely found himself alone with her.

Acting casual, Tony strolled over to the bar, scooping up a glass and pouring himself a healthy amount.

"Scotch?" Tony offered a glass to Wanda, cocking an eyebrow.

"I know something you don't," Wanda replied cooly.

"What would that be?" Tony smirked. There wasn't much he didn't know.

"It's a secret," Wanda laughed, now looking pleased at Tony's discomfort.

Tony was getting annoyed at the new Avenger. He hadn't been particularly cruel to her. He didn't know what he had done to make her hate him so much.

"Well if you aren't going to tell me…" Tony let the sentence trail off, hoping to trick her into telling him the secret. Wanda sucked a breath in and seemed to fight with herself.

"You have a daughter," she blurted out.

Tony felt the glass slip out of his hand and his face go pale. No that's impossible, he thought. Wanda's looked at him with eyebrows raised and lips pursed together. Finally Tony felt like he could choke out a sentence.

"Let me guess: you're going to claim to be my daughter so you can inherit my mass amount of money," he said trying to sound like the cocky and cool-headed person he was. Wanda looked at him in disgust.

"No. I'm not your daughter, you idiot," she snapped.

"Then how do you know that I have a daughter?" Tony growled. This has to be a stupid prank, he thought. Wanda dragged her finger along the bar edge, looking down.

"It was a rumor in my town. There was a supposedly abandoned house where horrible things happened. Pietro and I wanted to see what was inside," she whispered.

"And what she was just standing there, claiming to be a Stark?!"

"No! Will you shut up and listen?!" Wanda yelled. Tony poured himself another drink and gestured for her to continue.

"Pietro and I were looking in through a window. This was before the bomb so we would have been young. Seven at the most. And there were a group of people. The group consisted of one child, one female, and three males. The child was around our age but there was something more mature about her. Like she had seen more. And I heard one of the males ask if she was the Stark child."

Tony finished his drink and began to chomp on the ice. He looked out the window, at the wall, at the floor, anywhere but Wanda. He felt a hand clasp his chin and pull his face towards hers.

"Why did you tell me this?" he asked her.

"Because I didn't want you to be mean to the girl when she comes here," Wanda replied.

"She isn't coming here. I don't even know her name!" Tony replied.

"What did you think Pepper's errand was?" Wanda asked, cocking her head.

Tony slowly felt his anxiety rising. She wouldn't, he thought, she would not bring a young girl here without my permission. Wanda kept her eyes on his face, smirking slightly. Then her eyes slowly left his face and stared at something slightly to the left of Tony.

"Tony?" a familiar and female voice interrupted his panic. Tony turned around and saw Pepper Potts standing behind him. She had her hands clasped in front of her and a shy smile on her face.

"Pepper," Tony said cooly, reaching for another drink. He could see that there was more than Pepper's shadow behind her.

"Tony, I'd like to introduce to someone-"

"My daughter. I know. The kid already spilled the beans," Tony glared at Pepper.

"Yes, well...um...here she is!" Pepper pushed the young girl in front of her and hurried to get herself and Wanda out of the room. Tony watched them go and then turned to face his supposed daughter. He stared at her, her head slightly cocked and one eyebrow slightly raised.

"What's your name kiddo?"

"Grace," she said. Tony noticed how uninterested and sad she looked. Also he notice how skinny she was. Grace looked like she hadn't had a decent meal in weeks.

"You don't look happy to be here Grace," he said, trying to make conversation.

"I'm happy to finally know that I have family but...may I be blunt Mr. Stark?" Grace asked looking at him with big, brown eyes.

"By all means. We don't sugarcoat things around here."

Grace gave him a smile that quickly left her face.

"No person would be happy to find out that they were a product of one of your flings. That they were just a drunken mistake," Grace paused to examine one of the many ornate glasses. Tony watched her and realized that Wanda was right. Grace was much beyond her years.

"I'm...I'm sorry that you are disappointed by me," Tony said, staring at his empty glass. Grace whipped around to face him. For the first time her mouth split into a huge smile and it seemed to light up the entire room. She threw her thin arms around Tony and hugged him hard. Tony hesitated for a moment and then hugged her back. They stayed like that for a moment until he heard a cough. They both turned to look at the source and saw none other than Clint, Steve, Bruce, Wanda, and Pepper standing there. Clint smirk at Tony, his eyes gleaming. Tony, realizing that Clint might tease him for showing so much affection, stepped in front of Grace. Grace put her hand on his shoulder and stepped out from behind him. She looked at the Avengers that had gathered and smiled at them. Then she cleared her throat.

"Hi," she began, "My name is Grace. Up until now I didn't have any clue as to who my dad was. But thanks to Wanda and to Pepper Potts, Dad and I have been reunited."

Grace hesitated and looked backed at Tony. She smiled and continued with her speech.

"And I'm proud he's my Dad. So if anyone dares to tease him about any affection he might show, you'll have to answer to me," Grace's voice got harder and her eyes stared at Clint.

"What could you do to me?" Wanda laughed at the idea that this tiny teen could hurt her. Suddenly she felt herself flying backwards. Wanda crashed into the wall and was held there. She looked at Grace in surprise.

"My powers are a lot like yours Wanda. But I have twice the power you do so do. NOT. MESS. WITH. ME!"

Everyone froze, shock written all over their faces. Noticing the obvious change in mood, Grace released Wanda, letting out a girly giggle. Wanda fell to the floor and Clint and Steve rushed to her side to help her up.


	2. Chapter 2

Later that night, after giving Grace a room to sleep in and the others had gone off to do their own things, Tony sat behind a desk in his main office, drinking deeply from a bottle of whiskey and rubbing his temples.

The desk had been Tony's father's and he had had it specially removed from its previous location at the Stark mansion. Howard Stark had been a hard worker-just like Tony was-and he could always be found either in one of his laboratories or hunched over behind his desk, working on god-knows-what. And, although Tony still held some harsh feelings towards his father, the idea that he could work from behind the same desk as Howard, continuing the legacy, meant a great deal to him. Tony was sure that Howard would nod sternly if he were there to see the desk being put to good use by his son.

But he wasn't. Howard and Maria Stark had died in a tragic car "accident" when Tony was only 17 year old. Tony had always suspected foul play, but there was no hard evidence to support his claim. So now, here Tony sat, an alcoholic with a narcissistic attitude, defensive tendencies, and PTSD that he tried so hard to hide from the others. Despite his condition, would Howard be proud of his son? Tony doubted it. Howard had been a difficult man to please and he had never really paid Tony much attention. Tony saw too much of Howard in himself.

And now he was faced with this. A daughter. He should have known. Tony had slept around more times than he could count, sometimes with protection, sometimes without. He rarely heard from any of those women again but, nonetheless, he should have been prepared.

The thing that was really eating away at his brilliant mind was that Grace had powers. She was supposedly his daughter but something just didn't seem right.

Grace had claimed that she had inherited powers from her mother, Anna Lavrov, who was conveniently dead. Sure, even if her mother had not possessed any special powers, it was possible that the girl's genes could have mutated on their own, but this was highly unlikely and very rare. On top of that, Tony had only been to Russia a handful of times and he could not for the life of him remember this girl's mother. He would have to remember sleeping with someone as powerful as Grace, right?

The thing that scared him most was how easily Grace had locked Wanda to the wall. It was no effort to her. True, Tony did not like the Scarlet Witch much, but he would never have wished that upon her. Wanda was part of the team and you do not treat your teammates with such harsh and unnecessary hostility for no reason. The kid had even laughed about it, like it was funny to cause someone pain.

The nagging thoughts paraded the back of Tony's brain and suddenly he didn't feel like being in this room alone anymore.

"JARVIS, locate Dr. Banner," Tony instructed his AI pal.

JARVIS responded within seconds, "Sir, Dr. Robert Banner is in laboratory 14."

"Thank you."

"You are welcome, sir."

Tony connected the intercom to lab 14 and spoke into it, "Bruce, you down there?"

"Yes," Banner's voice echoed through the microphone, "I was just adjusting the emission of electromagnetic radiation on the laser that connects to Barton's new arrowheads."

"I was planning on infusing them with tabun, too."

"For paralysis? Good idea," Bruce agreed.

"Care to join me for a drink?" Tony asked.

"Sure, let me lock down these blueprints and seal the weapon case."

Ten minutes later, a light knock sounded on the door of the office. Tony gave the knocker permission to come inside and in walked Bruce, looking a little on-edge.

"You all knew," Tony accused as Bruce shut the door behind him.

"Not really, Tony," Bruce said, one hand burrowed deep in the front pocket of his khakis, the other scratching at the back of his head-something he did when he was feeling anxious.

"Then how come you were all there?" Tony challenged.

"Look, Tony, I didn't know about anything until a few seconds before we left, when Pepper asked me to go."

"But Clint knew," Tony pointed out.

"No, Steve told him as Wanda was telling you."

"You were all in on it. That's my point."

Bruce sighed. "Do you want me to tell you the full story?"

"Please," Tony replied snarkily.

"Pour me a glass because this is going to be a long one." Bruce pulled up a chair opposite of Tony and sat. Tony poured him a generous glass of whiskey and slid it across the wood. Bruce could handle alcohol in moderation and Tony was the only person who was comfortable sharing a drink with him. "Thank you," Bruce inclined his head.

"Tell me everything you know, Bruce."

Bruce swallowed a stinging gulp and nodded. "Right." He took a shaky breath and began. "As you know, the Maximoff twins grew up in Russia. Where they lived, there was a rumor that a special child lived among them. The people investigated and found her alone, in a building that was abandoned a long time before. When confronted, the child claimed to be a Stark. Now, I just did some research, and the building itself was a place where horrible experiments conducted by Hydra were reported to have occurred. Th—"

"Wait a minute," Tony interrupted, "you're telling me that this kid was alone _in a building owned by Hydra_ , and you thought it was a good idea to bring her _here_!? Do you see anything wrong with that, Bruce?"

"It wasn't my idea, Tony," Bruce defended himself. "I didn't know anything until I was already on my way there."

A nasty sensation seized Tony's stomach. Whatever was going on, he did not have a good feeling about it. "Who authorized this?" Tony demanded.

"Natasha," Bruce answered, shrugging.

"Bruce, from what I know, Natasha has not contacted us ever since she left for that mission in Istanbul, two weeks ago."

"I'm just going off what I was told, Tony." Bruce took another sip from his glass, his body stiff and his skin sweaty.

"Who spoke to her?"

"Steve. Natasha told Steve about the child—your daughter—and how she needed to be brought here."

"Just Steve? Why did she need to be brought here?"

"Well, Wanda caught the tail end of it and Nat said it was because she was unwell and needed your help."

"Help with what?" Tony pressed on.

"She didn't get the chance to say," Bruce replied, "the signal dropped."

Tony found himself leaning forward in his chair, a thousand of different thoughts, suspicions, and possible scenarios running through his crowded head. "Then what?" he prodded.

"Then Steve and Wanda spoke to Pepper about the situation and she insisted on going. Steve didn't want her to go because of the possibility of danger, but because the girl was your child, she would not take no for an answer. Steve advised her to ask me to go so that maybe I could protect her, and she did. I agreed to go without knowing anything about the mission because I knew you would want Pepper to be safe."

"You still don't have full control," Tony demurred.

"I-I wouldn't have h-hurt her," Bruce stammered. "I-I thought it was better for me to go than just Steve, I w-wouldn't have transformed unless necessary," The hand holding Bruce's glass began to shake as he rambled on," I thought I would try to protect her without changing into the other guy, and even if I had transformed, I would have distanced myself from her, I knew you would want her to have some sort of protection, I mean, I—"

"—Calm down, Banner, I wasn't suggesting that you would have purposely put Pepper in harm's way."

"I would never," Bruce asserted.

"I know." Tony reached out and placed his hand on top of Bruce's, steadying it. "Tell me the rest," he encouraged.

Bruce took a deep breath and wiped the beads of sweat away from his forehead with the back of his hand before continuing. "We geared up for the mission and set out. We arrived and were able to access the building without any trouble. We found the girl and explained to her who we were and that we wanted to take her home. It was weird, Tony, she was just sitting there, staring at us. She didn't even seem surprised to see us. I was feeling edgy, but I played it off as nothing. The place was dirty and there was no source of running water or food, but she was clean and didn't seem to be too undernourished, considering her living conditions. It was smooth, we removed her from the premises and she went along with it. While Pepper was having conversation with her, I took Steve aside and told him something wasn't right. He ignored me, of course, and went on about how he was not going to let this girl grown up an orphan like he had to. He said that rescuing and reuniting her with her family was honorable. The entire trip back, she spoke to Pepper and Steve, who kept smiling at her. I had a bad feeling, so I sat away from them, but I listened to their conversation. It was a normal, she spoke about her mother and how she had been killed a few years back, and how she was excited to meet you, but she didn't once bring up her powers. It was odd, Tony. When we got back, you saw what happened."

As Bruce's personal reiteration of the event came to a close, the office door opened. Pepper peaked her head inside.

"Are you coming to bed?" she asked, and then seeing Bruce, "Am I interrupting something?"

"Not at all," Tony lied. "Where's the kid?"

A look of distaste colored Pepper's face. "Your _daughter_ is in her bed, fast asleep."

"Yeah, yeah," Tony rushed, "are you sure?"

"Yes," Pepper confirmed, squinting her eyes suspiciously. "I just checked on her."

Tony decided to let Pepper in on the private discussion. "Come in and close the door, please."

Pepper, Bruce, and Rhodey were the only people Tony trusted. They were the only people who knew about Tony's PTSD (except for that kid from Rose Hill, Tennessee) and they were the only ones who knew the true Tony Stark. Tony trusted them with his life.

Pepper did as Tony said, crossing her arms over her silky midnight colored nightgown.

"Take a seat."

"Tony, what is going on?" Pepper demanded, standing tall as she blatantly refused to sit.

"I don't trust Grace. There are some major holes in her story," Tony shot at Pepper.

Pepper took a deep breath and looked ready to defend Grace with all her might but then a beeping came from the computer.

"What in the world?' Bruce murmured, putting down his glass to look at the computer screen.

"Sir, Grace and Wanda are on the roof," JARVIS informed Tony.

Tony, Bruce, and Pepper looked at each other and then hurried to the staircase to get to the roof. They pushed the heavy door open and Bruce and Tony helped Pepper get over the final step. Within seconds the three were joined with Barton and Steve. Both Barton and Steve looked ready for a fight and Tony thought that they might be right. If both girls had similar powers, some serious damage could be done.

"They're on the other side of the roof," Steve yelled over the wind that was now whipping across the roof.

The group hurried across, hoping that they weren't too late to prevent the fight. Finally they saw Wanda and Grace, standing face-to-face. The girls weren't fighting but they were standing with defences raised.

"Why didn't you tell them the whole story?" Wanda yelled at Grace, who shut her eyes and took deep breathes. Tony realized that the wind that was growing stronger every minute was coming from her.

"What story?! That I was unwilling operated on?! That my mother was a horrible monster and so am I?! Tell me which story to say, cause I have plenty!" Grace screamed, tears rolling down her face.

Wanda looked over and seemed to notice the group for the first time. She smirked at them and then turned her attention back to Grace. Tony looked closer at Grace and realized that she was suffering a panic attack. He finally unrooted himself from Pepper's side and tried to get closer to Grace, who turned to face him with tears running down her face and more in her eyes, which were flashing between violet, brown, and light blue. Her entire body was shaking and her lungs were heaving. She collapsed to the ground and at the same time the wind was gone.

"Hey," Tony said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "It's okay kid."

"No it's not," Grace cried, "I'm a monster."

Tony looked back at the group. Steve and Pepper, sensing his distress, came forward to stand next to Grace.

"Hey kid, I'm the only monster here," Bruce said trying to lighten the mood.

Grace looked up at Wanda, who nodded.

"They deserve to know," Wanda whispered.

"Know what?" Barton asked, putting down his bow and arrow.

Grace took a deep breath and began.

"You ought to know why someone like me is the way she is and why I was all alone when you found me. Anna Lavrov was my mother. She only had half the power I do. She had even less than what Wanda has. But she did have something that made her more interesting."

"Why don't I remember her?" Tony pushed. That was one of the real answers he wanted.

"She did what she did best. She erased herself from your memory."

Tony slowly lifted his hand off Grace's shoulder. She looked at the ground and laughed.

"Is this funny to you?" Tony demanded.

"No, no it probably shouldn't be. But yes, it is funny to me that a woman can erase herself entirely from your mind. Don't worry, she did it with a lot of guys. Sometimes I witnessed her messing with people's minds. And I thought this team accepted when minds are messed with," Grace said staring straight at Wanda.


	3. Chapter 3

Clint Barton had an uneasy feeling as he watched the conversation in front of him develop with more and more information. He glanced at the others occasionally, except Wanda. He glanced at her more than anyone. He could see her angry expression turning into an uneasy expression.

Wanda had enough of this conversation. Yes, she hated Mr. Stark but this was just more than hating for what happened in the past. Grace had him on his toes this entire time and it seemed like he was suffering. She could feel it, even if he wasn't exactly expressing this.

"Excuse me." Wanda quickly muttered as she turned from the group and went back into the Avengers Facility. Bruce and Steve had quickly glanced at Wanda who suddenly left before the two glanced at Barton. Sighing, Clint nodded at them and walked off, following where Wanda had went off.

Quietly following her, he found her actually going outside of the facility and walking out into the grassy field. Just where was she going? Staying silent, he followed her until they were a little far off from the facility.

"Wanda, where are you going?"

"Please leave me alone."

Clint frowned but he kept on following her until they got up to the forest. He quickly rushed up behind her and grabbed her shoulder to turn her around.

"Wanda please-"

"Mr. Barton just leave me alone!" she said suddenly snapping as she used her powers and pushed him into a tree rather violently.

Barton felt the air getting knocked out of his lungs before falling down to his knees. Wanda let in a quiet gasp as she saw what she had done. What was she doing? She was taking out her own anger on the man that took her in after her twin's death. Her hands were shaking, still glowing a red-like color.

Grunting softly, Clint got back up and rubbed his back. Man did she throw hard. Looking over at the now vulnerable Wanda, he saw a young broken girl. It's what she was, she just didn't like showing that around the others. He didn't blame her. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. He could feel her stiffen at first but it wasn't long until he could feel her arms wrap around his frame.

"Wanda...just let it go." he said softly as he held her close.

He began to stroke her back softly and he could hear her softly crying. She was no longer tense as she had been and she was digging her face into his chest. Barton wanted her to let it go here instead of taking it out on someone else in the facility. He stayed silent as he comforted her. She wept in his arms as he quietly rocked back and forth in a slow motion. After a while, Wanda's crying went down to quiet whimpers.

She then finally spoke, "I'm sorry… I-I didn't mean to hurt you."

Clint smiled softly as he still held her,

"I know, it's okay Wanda.." stroking her long brown hair as he watched the stars above him. It was silent once again before she went on.

"I don't understand why she treats him like that. She plays with him like a toy.." Barton was quietly confused but realized that he was talking about how Grace treated Tony. "Why doesn't she just appreciate the fact that she has a father." she adds, her voice sounding very upset.

"I don't know.. but I'm sure she will eventually. I know Tony has a soft side, he just doesn't like to show it as much around us."

Wanda nodded as she closed her eyes. The rocking motion was soothing as he held her. Barton knew Wanda was still hurting not only from Pietro's death, but also from her parent's death. She felt lonely in this world. Her twin had been the only family she had left and he was merely taken away by a man-made machine. Barton tried his best to become a father figure for her, and introduce her to his family so she wouldn't be completely alone. He knew he could never replace her parents or her family, but he could be here for her at least. When Grace had slammed Wanda suddenly into the wall, his breath had hitched. Barton really did care about her.

Sighing softly, he asked her, "Are you alright now?"

Wanda nodded without saying a word.

"Can we stay here for awhile..?"

He nodded as he stood there with her quietly.


	4. Chapter 4

"So you're telling me that a Russian woman completely erased herself from my memory?" Tony asked unbelieving. Grace nodded and he took another sip from his drink. Swallowing, he stared long and hard at Grace. Something was different about her, Tony thought.

"Sounds impossible, right?" Grace asked. Tony, Steve, Bruce, and Pepper nodded and she sighed. "You may not believe me but I do have proof."

"What proof? You?" Steve said.

"Well yes but I have photos of Tony and Mom together," Grace said, reaching for her bag. She pulled out a pack of ten photos and passed them to Tony. He reached for them and realized that now her eyes were violet. He took note of that and then began to look through the photos. All the photos were of a younger him and a young lady who had the same violet eyes that Grace now had.

"How is it possible for her to remove herself?" Tony murmured.

"Well it's a lot like how Wanda makes you see your worst fears. Except instead of making your brain see something, Mom made your brain not see something. She tricked your neurons into thinking that she was a traumatic event and thus, blocking her."

Grace looked around the room to see Steve and Pepper's blank faces but shock on Bruce and Tony's.

"Let me guess: you're a certifiable genius," Steve directed at Grace.

"Of course she is. She's a Stark," an entrancing voice said from the doorway. Everyone turned to look and saw none other than Natasha Romanoff standing there.

"Hey Anya," Natasha nodded at Grace, whose eyes widened, "I brought you something."

Natasha moved and revealed a white Husky, sitting behind her.

"Pooka!" Grace cried. The dog ran up to Grace and knocked her down. It began to lick Grace's face and she giggled and rubbed her nose against the Huskies.

"Wait...Anya?" Tony questioned.

"Yes. Anya Grace Lavrov. That's her full name," Natasha said. She crossed the room to stand next to Bruce.

"Anya is a beautiful name," Pepper exclaimed, "Why didn't you tell us?"

"They called me Grace back at the lab. I got used to saying it and hearing it," Anya/Grace said curling next to her dog. "Like Amazing Grace. Like I was a circus act," she added bitterly.

"Could you excuse my daughter and I?" Tony asked the others. Pepper nodded, looking thrilled that he had called the kid his daughter, and she gestured for the others to get out. Nat walked over to Anya/Grace, whispered something in her ear and the kid laughed and rewarded Nat with a rare smile. Tony crossed the room and sat next to Anya/Grace.

"How did your mother die, kid?" he asked, looking out the window. Anya/Grace sighed and began brushing the dog's fur.

"It was an accident. My powers are directly tied with my temper. And one day everyone at the lab, Mom included, were pushing me and making me mad and I couldn't deal. My power literally exploding out of me and slammed everyone against the stone walls...they were dead within seconds. I still have a scar from that day."

Anya/Grace turned and lifted her long, black hair to reveal an ugly scar that seemed to end at the back of her head.

"It's from a piece of the ceiling falling on me," she continued, "I was knocked out and when I woke up, everyone that I had ever known was dead. I didn't even like half the people there. Hell I barely liked my Mom. But they were all I had."

Anya began to cry and the dog whined and began nudging her face. Tony finished his drink, put down the glass, and looked at her.

"I know something about you," Anya murmured, looking straight at Tony.

"Yeah and what's that?"

"You suffer from PTSD," Anya calmly said. Tony looked at her for a long time and then sighed.

"And I'm guessing you do to?" Tony questioned. Anya nodded and he sighed.

"No one but you and Pooka know I do," she said.

The air that settled around them seemed heavier now. Tony found that he was actually saddened by the girl's story. This may be all the alcohol that Tony consumed talking but he found that he was worried about Anya.

"Why are your eyes violet now?" Tony asked hoping he wasn't pushing her too much.

"They are?" Anya questioned and she pulled a hand mirror out of her bag to look. When she realized that Tony was right, she laughed a little.

"My eyes are naturally violet," she laughed, "Like Mom's but she told me that having violet eyes make me look like a freak so I usually make them look brown. A normal color."

Tony put one hand under her chin and raised her tear-stained face to his. "Keep them violet Anya. Don't hide who you are from the world," he advised. She smiled at him and then yawned. Tony put his arm around her and she put her head on his shoulder.

"One more question," he said.

"What's that?"

"What's with the Husky?"

"Pooka? He wandered into where I was living a year or two ago and he's been my best friend ever since."

Tony felt himself smiling and he pulled Anya closer. How ridiculous this must look, he thought. Me, Tony Stark, holding a daughter that I didn't know I had and sitting next to her dog. Then Tony found that he really didn't care.


	5. Chapter 5

Steve left after the incident on the roof. It was late and he desperately needed to get some sleep in a place where he was not likely be bombarded by anyone. He rode his old-fashioned motorcycle through the dimly-lit night, the damp evening air blowing coldly against his firm chest and cascading through his neatly combed hair, swooshing it astray.

He enjoyed rides like these. Rides were the motorway was vacant and where his headlights were the only things lighting the countryside road, illuminating his pathway home. Journeys where he could reflect. The word "home" wasn't exactly appropriate, but Steve played along with it anyway.

His "home" was back in the 1940s, where he belonged. Back when he used to walk to the corner store and deli with Bucky and talk about normal things, not having to worry about much because they would always look out for one another and they always had each other's backs. Back when he had unconsciously slipped into falling in love with a remarkable woman, a woman who appreciated who he was and loved him back. But his time had been stolen from him and he had never gotten the chance—the chance to be with her. Then, with the blink of his startling blue eyes, Steve's entire world had been taken away from him. How cruel life was.

In what seemed to him like no time, his trip was over and Steve parked his bike in front of the one-bedroom apartment that he rented. He trudged up the rusty metal staircase and unlocked his front door, flicking on the light and tossing his keys carelessly onto the kitchen counter.

Tony had given him a place to stay but Steve rarely did so. Tony assumed it was because Steve was being stubborn, that he would rather live in his own personal space, away from the others. This was not completely true. Rather, Steve _needed_ to get away. His mind craved the release of being alone. Not that he enjoyed it, but after being exposed to the overwhelming modern world, Steve relied on solidarity to keep him sane. Here, he could pretend.

He used the bathroom, brushed his already sparkling white teeth, washed his sleepy face, and stripped into his undershirt, leaving his blue jeans on.

The floorboards creaked beneath him as he moved to take a seat behind the round kitchen table. There he pulled out his ancient compass, flipping it open and gazing at the photograph inside. The photograph of Peggy Carter. The last image he had seen before crashing into the ice that had doomed him.

 _Tick, tick, tick._

The clock hanging on the chipped beige painted wall echoed continuously in the back of his mind.

Oh, how he wished he could go back and hold her once more, to cradle her head in his arms and tell her how much he truly loved her…but, no matter how hard Steve wished, he could not go back.

He visited Peggy once a week, sometimes even more. She would remember and then forget him. The Alzheimer's was only getting worse and Steve knew that it was only a matter of time before she, too, would be taken away from him, into some afterlife or another, and Steve could not help but wish that he were lying wrinkled and timeworn, and holding her hand, right there beside her.

The ticking began to fade. He was exhausted. His heavy eyelids finally flickered closed. He just needed to sleep for a few minutes…a few hours….

The sound of light footfall caused Steve to jerk awake suddenly, wiping the drool from his chin. Whoever it was came closer and closer until they were standing on the other side of his locked door. Steve stood and readied himself for the possibility of an impending fight.

"Who's there?" He demanded, his voice gruff and steady.

"It's me," a woman calmly responded.

"Nat?" Steve wondered aloud, trudging over to the door to look through the peephole.

"Yeah, let me in," she said.

The hallway was shadowy but Steve was able to confirm that it was, in fact, Natasha Romanoff by her height and slight frame. He unbolted the door and stepped aside so that she could enter his tiny apartment.

Natasha eyed up the room, taking everything in as she always did, even though she had been there countless times before. Steve assumed that this was a common attribute for someone who had been raised as an assassin.

"That poor bed of yours has never been slept in, has it?" Natasha jibbed. She had noticed the open compass, the pushed-out chair, and a wet patch where Steve's drool had ran from his gaping mouth and off of his chin. Steve ignored her comment, rolling his eyes.

"Milk?" he offered, opening the almost empty refrigerator and pouring himself a glass.

"I'm good," she responded, making herself at home on one of the two poorly-made wooden chairs. Steve sat opposite her.

"How did your mission go?" he asked, caring but also desperately wanting to ask her the second question.

"It was fine," she said, "a little boring, actually." Then, her expression turned serious, her voice solemn, "I didn't find anything, Steve."

Steve felt his face fall. "Nothing at all?" he begged, a small wisp of hope evident in his desperate voice.

"I'm sorry, Steve."

Steve hung his head, staring down at the spot where his hands rested beside the patterns in the warped wooden tabletop. He had asked Natasha to do a lot of searching since she was the person who went on the most foreign-based missions. Steve knew that _someone_ , _somewhere_ , had to know _something_.

"Hey," Natasha took his hand, guiding his head upward with the encouraging fingers that she placed underneath his chin, "we'll find him."

Steve's crestfallen eyes locked with hers. Natasha conveyed strength and confidence. He wanted to believe her, but he found it difficult.

"I promise." Natasha vowed, asserting her willingness, and showing Steve that she would not give up on searching. She gave his hand a comforting squeeze. Her hand was cold.

"I need to find him," Steve muttered, "before they do."

Natasha sighed. "The government definitely wouldn't treat him kindly."

Steve agreed. The government would love to get their hands on the person who was involuntarily responsible for many tragic and important deaths.

"Why don't you just ask Tony to help?" Natasha tried coaxing him. "Finding him would be so much easier that way."

Steve shot her a meaningful look. "You know why, Nat."

Natasha nodded. "He killed his parents."

"If he knew….Stark would never forgive him."

"He wouldn't turn him in, Steve."

"You don't know that," Steve snapped back and then collected himself. "He doesn't deserve to be punished; he didn't know what he was doing."

"Surely Tony can attest to that," Natasha openly disagreed. "His record isn't exactly clean."

"He never massacred innocent people."

"His weapons have," Natasha pointed out.

Steve sighed. "That isn't the same thing."

"It's close."

She was trying to assure him. Steve lifted the corner of his mouth, attempting a grateful smile. "Thank you," he stressed, being as sincere as he possibly could. She smiled tenderly back at him but slid her calloused hand away from his, placing it on her lap instead.

"Where do you picture him being?" Natasha asked curiously.

"If he's back to being himself again, he's probably off somewhere stuffing himself with corndogs." Steve chuckled but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

 _If he was himself again, he would come and find me,_ the thought tromped through Steve's pulsing head.

Natasha grinned back. "Wherever he is, I'm sure Bucky's fine."

Steve hoped so. He really hoped so.


	6. Chapter 6

Anya walked back inside the Avengers facility. She looked around the room and felt uneasy and like she had to do something. She whistled for Pooka and looked around again. Pooka came trotting over to her and sat down in front of her, his tongue out and looking happy. Anya smiled at him and then had a brilliant idea.

"Pooka, can you find and retrieve cleaning supplies for me?" Anya asked the giant husky. Pooka's eyes lit up with understanding and he trotted off. Satisfied, Anya stood and brushed off her leggings. Time to show the Avengers what I can really do, Anya thought. Pooka came back, dragging a bucket, broom, mops, duster, a vacuum and other cleaning supplies.

"Good boy Pooka," Anya coed, "Now can you find me some food that I can cook?" The husky seemed to nod and wandered off the kitchen. Anya turned to look at the cleaning supplies Pooka had found.

"Okay, time to Sorcerers Apprentice this stuff," she whispered to herself. She waved her hand and a violet glow came over everything. With a swish of her hand, the cleaning supplies came to life and with another swish, they began to clean. She heard Pooka bark and knew that meant he had found food. They had developed that system during their time together so both of them could eat food regularly. She wandered over the kitchen.

"Alright, what do we got here?" Anya asked Pooka and she looked over the selection, "Eggs, sugar, flour, bacon, sausage, baking powder, salt, butter, blueberries, chocolate chips, cinnamon, bread, and yeast. Hmmmmmm."

Anya looked at Pooka and raised her eyebrows. This was the most edible food that they'd come across in their entire time together. She smiled to herself and began to get to work. She mixed up some chocolate chip and blueberry pancakes, began frying the bacon and sausage, and used leftover ingredients to mix up chocolate chip, blueberry, and cinnamon muffins. She realized there was still left over eggs and she cracked them to make scrambled eggs. Pooka dragged the toaster out and Anya plugged it in and began to make toast. Pooka licked her leg to remind her of the cleaning supplies.

"Oh thank you Pooka!"

Anya ran back to the living room/bar area and saw that the room was practically sparkling. She waved her hand and the supplies stopped moving instantly and floated back the bucket. She whistled and Pooka trotted over.

"Take these back to where you found them," she told the husky who immediately understood. She hurried back to kitchen and finished cooking the breakfast. She laid it out on the table and looked on satisfied with her work. Pooka nudged his head against her hand and she giggled.

"Oh Pooka, do you think any of this will be able to make up for what we're about to do?"

Pooka barked and Anya laughed again.


	7. Chapter 7

Tony, Natasha, Clint, Pepper, Bruce and Wanda came down to see a table full of breakfast foods and drinks waiting for them. Anya stood at the head and was smiling nervously.

"What is all this?" Pepper marveled quietly. Anya's smile grew even bigger.

"It's breakfast," Anya replied. Then her eyes focused on Wanda and they seemed to soften. "And it's a peace offering," she added.

Nat and Pepper smiled at her. Tony nodded seeming impressed. Wanda softened a little at the sweet gesture. The Avengers moved to sit down and Anya walked away. They all looked at her strangely and she sucked in a breath.

"I ate as I was cooking so I'm not hungry," she laughed trying to sound cool headed and not extremely nervous.

The group shrugged and began to eat. Anya began to back away again and made a leash appear in her hand.

"I'm going to take Pooka for a walk," she announced.

"Oh Anya you shouldn't go out alone," Pepper said.

"I'll be fine. Pooka will protect me and I'll protect him."

Like we always do, Anya thought to herself.

"Pepper let the kid go," Tony said while eating a strip of bacon. Pepper consented, although she didn't look happy about it. Anya and Pooka walked out and turned the corner.

"Okay Pooka. Time to get to work," Anya said heading towards her father's computer, Pooka following her willingly.


	8. Chapter 8

"Tony," Pepper hissed across the table in an undertone that told Tony that she did not approve of something, "you shouldn't have let Anya go out alone!"

Classic Pepper, always worrying about things.

"She's a teenager and we are in upstate New York. Farm-country. It would be different if we were at the Tower or at the mansion. There are only two roads out of this place. And she has that huge dog," Tony added.

Pepper gave him a look of great disapproval. "She is in a new place, Tony."

Bruce Banner spoke up, his mouth stuffed full of sausage and eggs, "I agree with Pepper on this one, Tony. She's just a kid."

Tony pointed to Bruce's full mouth. "One: That is disgusting. Two: Shut up, Bruce. The kid will be fine."

"Sorry," Bruce swallowed the mouthful, "I've been working in the lab all night and I'm starving."

"Still disgusting."

Clint, Natasha, and Wanda were having their own conversation at the other end of the table.

"Hey," Tony addressed them, making his voice loud enough for them to hear over Clint's chattering, "where's the fossil?"

Clint, who was still lounging around in his pajamas despite it being noon, shrugged and took a sip from his orange juice. "Haven't seen him since last night."

"He's home," Natasha casually informed Tony.

Tony nodded. Of course Steve had disappeared to that crappy old apartment. Tony pushed his chair out and rose from the table, wiping his mouth off and tossing the crumpled napkin onto his empty plate.

"Where are you going?" Pepper inquired, still not happy with him.

"I need to talk to Stars n' Stripes about something," Tony told her. He took note of how Natasha stiffened when he said that.

"Why don't you get JARVIS to contact him? It would only take him a few minutes to get here," Natasha proposed, her body language guarded.

Tony shook his head and gazed curiously at her. "It's a personal matter," he stated. "And I might as well look for the kid while I'm at it, since she's apparently not able to follow directions," Tony scoffed, throwing a mocking look in Pepper's direction.

Pepper's face turned sour. "You know what I meant, Tony."

Tony grinned and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "I'm just being me, sweetheart."

Pepper gave him a slight smile back, not giving him the satisfaction of a full smile, "You are unbelievable."

"You have no idea how many times women have told me that," Tony mused, making his way to the door.

"Anna Lavrov probably told him that," Clint whispered underneath his breath. Wanda and Bruce both snorted and tried to cover it up while Tony and Pepper gave Clint a glare. Pepper turned back to Tony.

"Make sure you check both paths!" Pepper called out to his retreating figure.

"Hence why I am wearing my walking shoes," Tony sassed. His shoes were not necessarily meant for trudging over uneven dirt roads but he did not care.

"Or, you could drive," Bruce suggested. "Walking will take about twenty minutes."

"She has a _dog_ ," Tony scolded Bruce, stressing the word "dog" and wrinkling his nose. Bruce rolled his eyes, deciphering Tony's clandestine meaning.

So what? Tony was preppy. It was the way he had been raised. Animals were filthy and Tony would not have saliva sloshed all over the leather seats of his brand new 2016 Audi R8 (which he had gotten his hands on before it had been released on the market to the rest of the public).

As the others went back to their breakfast feast, Tony stole another glance at Natasha once more before exiting the room and it was obvious that she knew something that he did not. He tilted his head, squinting his eyes to study her. She was definitely keeping something from him. However, she let slip no indication of what that thing was, her eyes defensive. What could she possibly know?


	9. Chapter 9

Anya walked down the dusty road with Pooka running ahead. He looked happy to be outside and free again. Anya, however, kept turning the flash drive over and over in her hand. She couldn't make up her mind. Before she left with Pepper, Steve, and Bruce, Hydra had contacted her. They knew that Pepper would bring her to the Avengers and they knew that if she was at the Avengers, she could access information for Hydra. And if she accessed information for them, they would leave Avenger families alone. But if she didn't, they would go ahead with their plans. They would take Barton's kids, they would force Jane Foster (whoever that was) to work for them, they would kill Pepper, and make sure there was not any part of Bucky left in the Winter Soldier so Cap couldn't help him. They would make Bruce turn into the Hulk and then have the Hulk permanently be his form. And they would completely destroy Wanda mentally. They would take everything. And they would still get information on the Avengers. Information that Anya now held in her hand. Anya told them she wouldn't do it. She couldn't betray the only family she had left. She left it at that. But she couldn't shake the feeling that Hydra was watching her all the time. Like right now. Suddenly she realized that her dog was no longer happy and frockliking. He was standing with his hackles raised.

"What is it Pooka?" Anya asked, creeping closer. Her dog seemed fixated on a certain set of bushes. Anya looked around and saw that she could no longer see her new home. Pooka growled and she turned back.

"Hello?" Anya crept closer to the bushes and tried to see who was there.

"Hello...Amazing Grace," a creepy voice came from the dark of the bushes. A hand reached out and clasped a leather bracelet around Anya's wrist.

Anya screamed, recognizing the low tone and the bracelet, began to run back the way she came, Pooka close on her heels. She paused for a second to look at the flash drive. A million scenarios ran through her head. She closed her fist over the flash drive, deciding that she could not betray the Avengers.

"Pooka can you find the way back?" Anya asked, not recognizing anything. Pooka barked and she smiled.

"I'll take that as a yes, Pooka."

And with that, Anya and Pooka began running towards the facility.


	10. Chapter 10

Tony stepped out of the facility and shielded his eyes from the bright sun with his hand. Where could the kid have gone? She had been gone like an hour or two. In fact, she should have been back by now, Tony thought. He turned and sighed. Really she was around Wanda's age. He shouldn't have to babysit her. He turned and sighed again. Tony got an uneasy feeling. Anya and that dumb dog should be back, or at least visible. Tony shrugged and turned to get in his car. He did have personal business with Steve to get to. He'd look for the kid later.

"I thought you were walking," Natasha spoke. Tony hadn't heard her coming and she seemed to have appeared out of thin air.

Tony shrugged. "I changed my mind."

Natasha raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess, you aren't going to look for Anya like you promised." She said it as a statement, not a question.

"I didn't promise anything," Tony objected. "Besides, the kid is probably at the lake. I have more pressing matters to attend to."

"Then I'm coming with you," Natasha informed him. She grabbed hold of the orange door handle on the passenger side, her eyes never leaving Tony's face.

"Um, no you're not." Tony locked the door so she couldn't open it.

Her glare was like daggers. "Yes. I am."

Tony matched her deadly stare. The two of them stood, stubbornly facing-off in the gravel driveway, gripping the car and glowering.

The minutes passed and since they were both tenacious personalities, it was evident that neither of them would be giving up anytime soon.

"What are you hiding?" Tony questioned Natasha, accusatory.

"What do you want with Steve?" she shot back, her face giving nothing away.

"Get in."

Tony climbed into the driver's seat, not waiting for Natasha to slide in before starting the engine. He turned to see Natasha lean back and put her feet on the smooth black dashboard.

Tony scowled at her dirty shoes. "Could you not?"

She rolled her eyes but removed her feet.

They tore out of the driveway and onto the dusty dirt road, peeling around a corner and racing down the street in the direction of Steve's apartment.

"See, there she is," Tony said triumphantly to Natasha as they flew past Anya and her dog. "Didn't I say she would be fine?"


	11. Chapter 11

Anya was running behind Pooka hoping to outrun the creep in the woods. Suddenly Pooka slowed down to a stop and began growling at a dust cloud that was growing in the distance. Anya narrowed her eyes and tried to determine what was causing such a big cloud. As it got closer Anya realized that she was staring at a vehicle and if she didn't move now, she'd be flattened. Anya jumped out of the way and dragged Pooka down with her. The car passed by her crouching figure at an illegal speed and Anya knew that there was only one person in the facility who would drive that fast on a dirt road. She watched as Tony left the area and frowned.

"Damn Pooka. We have to move faster."

She had depended on her dad to protect the facility as she lost her follower and then she knew that Pepper would make him come looking for her. Now she had to cross her fingers and hoped nothing attacked while she got herself lost.

"Pooka go back to the facility without me. Protect everyone there, Pepper and Bruce especially. Make sure that Bruce DOES NOT go green," Anya commanded the dog. Pooka whined and Anya felt tears growing in her eyes. She had taken care of Pooka since he was a puppy and they protected each other with their lives. Telling him to leave her and protect the others meant that she didn't think she was coming back.

"One more thing boy," Anya reached down and put the flashdrive underneath Pooka's tags, "In case I can't outrun him…"

Pooka whined again and Anya hugged him.

"Now go!"

Anya watched Pooka leave and then turned towards the woods. Okay it's time to disappear, Anya thought.


	12. Chapter 12

Pepper got up from the table and put her crumpled napkin down. She looked down the way that both Tony and Anya had presumably disappeared down and bit her lip. She knew that Anya was 19 and therefore Pepper shouldn't be worried about her, but she couldn't help it. Anya seemed delicate. And Pepper _wanted_ Tony to worry about Anya. She wanted them to have a good relationship. And now that Pepper thought about it, Anya had been gone a suspiciously long time. Sighing she turned to Bruce Banner.

"Dr. Banner where would I be able to look for and track Tony and Anya?" she asked.

Bruce wiped his mouth and thought for a second.

"I don't know if you can track them, especially Anya, but you could look over the grounds on Tony's computer in his lab," the doctor said. Wanda looked at Pepper oddly. Clint threw his napkin down and stretched.

"What do you not trust the children?" Clint asked, smirking. Pepper glared at him and sighed. She turned and began walking towards Tony's lab. Reaching the lab, she pushed the door and looked inside. No Anya or Tony here. Frowning she went to Tony's computer.

"JARVIS please give me a scan of the grounds. Look for Anya, Tony, or Pooka."

Pepper waited a moment and when no response came she went over to the computer.

"Huh, someone shut JARVIS down," Pepper whispered. Being Tony's assisstant for as long as she had, Tony had taught Pepper how to restart JARVIS-though that was never supposed to happen as it was not an easy task to shut him down. She typed in the appropriate codes, placed her hand on the scanner, and let the lasers examine her eyes as well.

"Hello Ms. Potts. What can I help you with?" JARVIS asked as he came to life.

"Please scan the grounds for Anya, Tony, and/or Pooka," Pepper responded. She hummed as she waited.

"Mr. Stark appears to have left the ground a couple moments ago, Ms. Potts. Pooka is running towards the facility. He will arrive in a minute."

"And Anya?"

JARVIS was silent for a few seconds and then responded.

"Young Ms. Stark appears to be running through the woods with a unknown being following her."

Pepper went ramrod straight and felt her heart stop. So Anya was in trouble.

"Thank you JARVIS. Please get Tony on the phone for me. I'm going to inform the other Avengers that they might want to suit up."

"Yes Ms. Potts."

Pepper hurried up towards the other Avengers. By the sound of it, Anya needed help and Pepper knew just where to get it.


	13. Chapter 13

When they knocked on the bulky, tastelessly-painted green door, Steve Rogers answered immediately.

"Tony?" he seemed surprised. Then he saw Natasha and his expression turned guarded. "What's going on?"

"What, am I not allowed to visit you?" Tony said, walking past Steve into the tiny kitchen with the rickety cabinets and aged appliances. Without asking permission, Tony flopped down onto one of the spindly chairs, kicking his feet up and onto the wooden table.

"You never visit me," Steve remarked, shutting the door after Natasha.

Tony waved Steve's comment away, wanting to get right to business. "I needed to speak to you about something."

Steve froze mid-step and shared a look with Natasha, who did not show any sign of cracking. While Natasha might be able to play off an award-winning poker face, Steve on the other hand could not. This, Tony was aware of.

"You look like you're about to burst, Rogers," he commented coolly, folding his hands on his lap.

Steve grit his perfect teeth, his jaw locking into place.

"So," Tony continued, keeping his tone casual, "what are you doing snooping around my facility?"

"I was reading up on things." Steve's excuse was not adequate.

"And by things you mean the Winter Soldier?" Tony pressed.

Tony noticed how Steve momentarily lost his cool, his eyes widening and his arms involuntarily flexing. Tony's accusation had made him squirm.

"You should know that JARVIS is on the look-out 24/7."

Natasha's eyes flickered back and forth between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. The exuberated tension in the room was almost palpable.

"So I did my own research," Tony continued without missing a beat, "and I found out that you knew him. James Buchanan Barnes, that was his name, wasn't it? His death certificate declares him deceased but he isn't, is he Rogers? He's being used as a tool by Hydra and the United States government is currently on his tail." Tony removed his sunglasses. "So why are you looking for him?"

Before Steve could speak, Tony's cell phone rang, shrill and demanding. It was Pepper.


	14. Chapter 14

"Bruce, Clint, Wanda suit up," Pepper cried running past them in her hurry to get shoes on.

"Wait-"

"What?!"

"Uh I don't have a suit, necessarily."

"Whatever. Go big, go green. Just do something!" Pepper yelled.

Bruce hesitated. He knew going green was not something generally asked by the team. If Pepper was yelling at him to go green, she had to have a great reason.

"Why should I go green?" Bruce asked hoping it was just Pepper's stress speaking.

"Anya is in the woods...being chased...she needs help," Pepper panted.

Bruce considered the scenarios for a second but before he had time to decided a big, white fluffy thing jumped on him and knocked him down.

"Pooka! What are you doing?" Wanda cried running over to Bruce's side. Pooka looked straight at Wanda and a voice came from his collar.

"Pooka go back to the facility without me. Protect everyone there, Pepper and Bruce especially. Make sure Bruce DOES NOT go green," Anya's recorded voice sounded fuzzy but was understandable. The group looked at each other.

"So...Anya's in trouble?" Clint surmised. Pooka and Pepper nodded. "Okay then. Give me a few seconds to get my gear."

Wanda and Clint left to get dressed. Pepper and Bruce stared at each other exchanging a million thoughts.

"Ms. Potts, Tony is on the line," JARVIS interrupted their thoughts.

"Put him on."


	15. Chapter 15

"Pepper?" Tony's voice sounded through the phone, "what's going on?"

"Tony, something horrible is happening! Anya is in trouble!" Pepper exclaimed.

"What do you mean? She can't be. I just saw her 10 minutes ago. She seemed fine to me. I caught a glimpse of her while going 80."

Steve and Natasha stood close by, listening to Tony's end of the conversation.

"You drove by her!?" Pepper hollered at him.

"I needed to talk to the American Flag. I know she's been gone for a while but you're overreacting. I just saw her." Pepper often overreacted. Nothing new. Tony was used to it.

"JARVIS confirmed that she is being chased!" Pepper shouted back.

Tony's stomach dropped and he sat up straight, his outlook changing completely. Tony had created JARVIS and JARVIS had never been wrong.

"Chased by who?" Tony queried, his brows furrowing with concern.

Seeing the seriousness of the situation written on Tony's face, Steve grabbed his keys and Natasha went to stand by the door, ready to flee.

"I don't know, just hurry!" Pepper cried.

This was not good at all. JARVIS had access to the fingerprints of every criminal and images of faces from cameras all over the planet that he was able to match within less than half of a second. Not being able to identify someone was a major red flag; it most likely indicated the involvement of Hydra. Whoever this mysterious person was, they were highly dangerous.

"Tell the others to suit-up, get yourself somewhere safe, we're on our way," Tony rushed through the list of commands and ended the call.


	16. Chapter 16

Anya ran as quick as she could through the woods. She knew she wouldn't be able to outrun the person but she could give the Avengers time and that was what was important. She panted and looked behind her. The thing was closer than ever. Anya narrowed her eyes and increased her speed. Suddenly the forest cleared and Anya saw a lake. She put on her brakes and came to halt right before reaching the water. She couldn't swim. Or at least she had never tried to before.

"Well better late than never," Anya muttered. She plunged right into the water and began to try to swim. It wasn't going well. The person had reached the edge of the water and was staring straight at Anya. Then it began to wade towards her.

"Well crap," Anya whispered.


	17. Chapter 17

Tony sped down the road making a sharp turn and sending gravel flying.

"Well so much for the paint job," Natasha muttered, earning a glare from Tony. His grip tightened on the steering wheel, turning his knuckles white. Natasha looked out the rearview mirror and saw that Steve was close by. Suddenly Tony slammed on the brakes.

"What the-" Nat began but Tony pointed out the window.

"That's where we last saw Anya," Tony said, his eyes hard. Natasha nodded.

"Cap and I will get out and begin tracking her. You go back to the facility and make sure they listened to you," Natasha said. Tony nodded, his jaw clenched. Natasha put her hand on his shoulder, "Hey we'll find the kid Tony. She avoided capture for years. She's fine."

Tony nodded again and Natasha got out of the car and shut the door. Steve pulled up next to her and they watched Tony take off down the road.

"He's worried about the kid," Natasha said.

"I am too. She's powerful. Why hasn't she taken care of this creep?" Steve responded.

Natasha hadn't thought of that. Maybe that's why Tony was so freaked. His kid was just running, not defending.

"Come on, we have a Stark to find," Steve said, putting a hand on Nat's shoulder.


	18. Chapter 18

Pepper heard a door slam and knew that Tony was home. She rushed outside to greet him, Pooka and Bruce by her side.

"Tony!" she cried. Tony nodded but walked by and went straight for the facility. Pepper and Bruce looked at each other and followed him. Tony went straight for his computer.

"JARVIS where is Anya?" Tony asked as soon as he got to his lab.

"Anya appears to be swimming in the lake Sir," JARVIS replied. Tony, Pepper, and Bruce shared a confused look.

"Is anyone with her?" Pepper questioned.

"There is figure wading towards her. I cannot determine who the person is."

Tony bit his nail while he thought. He turned to Pepper and Bruce.

"Cap and Widow will be a direct path towards the lake. What about Barton and Wanda?"

"Barton and Wanda are heading towards the lake as we speak," Pepper replied.

Tony nodded and got up to leave.

"Where are you going?" Pepper questioned.

"To suit up and save my daughter."


	19. Chapter 19

Anya tried to keep her head above water but swimming was harder than it looked she was quickly finding. The creature just kept coming towards her. She sucked in a breath and tried to get closer to one of the shores. But not with much luck. _Hurry_ , she thought.


	20. Chapter 20

Just then, Captain America and Black Widow burst through the trees. The creature dove into the water and began swimming towards Anya, it's movements swift and polished. At this rate, it would reach her before she would have the chance to escape to the land on the other side.

"Hold on, Anya!" Steve shouted out to her. "I'm coming!"

Steve dove fiercely into the chilly water in pursuit of the creature while Natasha stood guard by the lake, preparing to fight off any more attackers. Something unexpected happened. As soon as Steve made contact with the water, his body went tense, throwing him back onto the rocky shore. Natasha ran to his side. She held Steve's head in her lap. He was still breathing but had somehow been knocked unconscious.

Then Hawkeye and Scarlet Witch were on the scene, ready to go into battle.

"Wait!" Natasha called out to Clint. "There's something wrong with the water!"

" _Shit!_ " Clint cursed. "How the hell are we supposed to get her out of there!?"

"Can't you hit it?" Natasha asked both of them.

"It's underwater, I can't get a direct shot. I can barely see it!"

"It's too close to Anya," Wanda said.

Tony Stark came zooming out of the foliage, supporting his famous Iron Man suit.

"JARVIS, give me the rundown," he commanded his partner.

"Sir, Rogers has been electrocuted. It seems that the creature in the water is giving off some sort of electromagnetic wave."

"How is Anya still breathing?" Tony wondered.

"Anya appears to be generating a type of forcefield around her body."

Tony flattened himself and flew directly over the lake, heading for Anya who was barely keeping herself afloat, the water splashing against his metal-covered chest. Just as he reached the spot where she treaded, a gnarled hand grabbed her by the throat and she let out a yelp as it yanked her under.

"JARVIS, prepare to dive," Tony ordered.

"Dive ready, sir."

Since Tony's Iron Man suit was made from a gold titanium alloy, its conductivity rate was very small, making it more of a resistor. Therefore, he was able to dive beneath the surface without being electrocuted.

Tony used the light shining from his suit to located Anya, who was being pulled deeper and deeper into the depths of the lake. Anya exerted herself, thrashing and fighting, but she could not free herself from the creature's steely grasp.

Tony came close enough and took hold of her small hand, trying unsuccessfully to pry her free from the beast. Instead, Tony took a hopeful shot at where the creature's head should be. Anya was released and Tony took her into his arms, launching himself out of the water and onto dry land.

On the shore, his mask opened as he laid his daughter's limp body on the ground. She had swallowed too much water and like Steve, had fallen unconscious. Unlike Steve, Anya was not breathing.

"Help her!" Tony boomed at the others, "She's not breathing!"

Wanda fluttered over to his side and bent over Anya, administering CPR. After a few tries, a flood of murky lake water was expelled from Anya's lungs. She was coughing and crying. But she was alive.

"Incoming!" Clint shouted.

Tony turned back to the lake to see that the creature was making its way towards them, its eyes locked on Anya. As it reached the water's edge, Hawkeye delivered an arrow to its neck. The creature collapsed face-first into the mud.

Tony and Clint approached it, Tony aggressively kicking it, commanding it to roll over with his foot. Where the face of a bizarre, monstrous-looking creature once resided, was now the face of a man. His skin was still gray but the rest of his body was relatively normal. The man who had morphed into a terrifying creature that was capable of electrocution bled out but smiled up at Tony with an evil grin.

"Who sent you?" Tony demanded of this thing.

The man only cackled a hideous laugh,

Tony seized the man by the collar of his shirt, shaking him. "I said, who sent you?" he growled threateningly.

"Stark," the man spat at him, "you think we have lost." The man spoke with a heavy Russian accent. "We have not lost. You are a fool Tony Stark. Your brain does not live up to the genius of Hydra. You and your petty team will never be able to defeat us!"

"What do you want with her!?" Tony yelled, shaking the dying man violently.

"Heil Hydra!" The Hydra agent began to laugh uncontrollable, mad laughter.

A thunderous roar sounded from somewhere down the road, followed by a resounding _BOOM_! that shook the ground on which they stood and could have only been the result of the new facility being blown up.

"Pepper!" Tony cried, his face draining of color.

"Tony, we need to go!" Natasha shouted. "We need to go now!"

The manic laughter emitted from the man's open mouth continued to grow louder until the pitch was gargled by the blood filling up in his throat, spilling onto his clothes and spattering onto Tony's disbelieving face.

Without really realizing it, Tony released his hostile grip on the maniac and stood, charging back the way he had come. He did not know if the others followed after him or if they stayed where they were, he only knew that he had to get back to the facility.

Why didn't he fly? He did not know. He was too detached from the world to even be able to connect the fact that he was still wearing the suit.

He made his way to the facility in a dazed stupor, faced with chaos and rampant flames which he drove into head on. He was powered by his need to find Pepper.

He heard a distant roar of what could not have come from anything but the Hulk.

He sprinted through the fire and disheveled parts of melted building. He climbed over pieces of what was wall just minutes ago. He crawled underneath tilted steel beams that had the potential to fall over at any moment and crush him. He didn't care. He just needed to find her.

At last, a lock of golden hair caught his attention. He raced over to where her body was motionlessly bent. It seemed as if time were stopping and everything was happening in slow motion. He reached her after what felt like forever.

Pepper's eyes were shut and she whimpered in pain. She was covered in blood and her chest was slowly being crushed to death by a hefty metal support from the building that had blown up all around her.

It was only a matter of time before the beam-

No, he would not think about that. Tony needed to get the steel beam off of her.

He grunted as he pushed on the beam. He used the suit to help him. Still, it was impossible to lift well over three thousand pounds.

Pepper made no more movement and her breaths became shallow as the overbearing weight of the beam slowly slipped upon her.

Tony let out a desperate cry as he watched her lifeforce being driven out. He screamed as loud as he had ever yelled in his life and put all of the power he had left inside of him into lifting the beam from Pepper. He could feel the adrenaline coursing throughout his body as tears ran down his grimy, tormented face. Then, as if by a miracle, he raised the beam, his heels digging into the hard ground and an agonizing yell sounding from his lips. Tony had just enough force to push it away from Pepper before he collapsed beside her, in the midst of all the wreckage.

He had told Pepper that he would always be there to protect her. That he would never let anything bad happen to her. That he would make sure that she was always safe. He had let her down. He had failed.

Tony's ears buzzed and his vision was cloudy. His head swam, rocking him somewhere between consciousness and lifelessness. He could not move. No matter how hard he tried, he could not make a sound. He could not find it within himself to care anymore. He didn't even feel human. He let himself drift in and out of awareness as the flames threatened to engulf him into their masses. He could hear the frantic shouts of people but he could not process what they were saying. Their voices were far away and he was ceasing to exist. The last thing that he was aware of was a hand closing around his shoulder and someone shouting words that his brain was too exhausted to decipher, probably for help.

Then, he closed his eyes and was met only by blackness.


	21. Chapter 21

Anya pushed herself up and looked around. She could sense that something terrible had happened. Looking at the lifeless, hideous man, she shuddered knowing that meant Hydra was here. Wanda was beside her, just watching.

Anya got up and turned to see smoke rising in the distance. _The facility_ , she thought. Heart pounding she began to run towards it, adrenaline pumping her heart. Wanda watched her leave but didn't react.

Anya's head was spinning and she thought she might collapse before she even got there. But Anya was a fighter. And she was fighting to stay awake. She cleared the forest and staggered up to the facility. It was in ruins.

"Pooka?" she cried out, knowing that if she found Pooka, she'd find the others. When no bark or whine cam, fear struck her heart. She surveyed the area again and saw people gathered around something. She began to jog towards them, willing her body forward. Clint looked up and saw her.

"Anya you shouldn't come any closer," he said, trying to restrain her so she wouldn't see what-or who-they were gathered around. But Anya smacked Clint's hands away and managed to see them anyway. She screamed and Clint grabbed her. She pushed against Clint harder.

"You can't help," Natasha told her.

"Yes I can! Just let me go!" and with a final push she formed a force field around her, knocking Clint to the ground and keeping Natasha out.

Anya slid herself between Tony and Pepper. Anya would only be able to help one of them and since Pepper wasn't breathing she took her scraped hands in hers, and held onto them tightly. _I won't let you die_ , Anya thought, _I won't let them win_. She settled in for a long battle between life and death. A mental battle that she knew would make her sick and unable to use her powers for a while, and even weaker than she would be if the sight of these two people on the ground hadn't caused another surge of adrenaline to coarse through her bloodstream. It was the only battle that she might lose. But she was determined.


	22. Chapter 22

Tony opened his eyes and was met with a the harsh glare of a blinding light. He groaned and tried to sit up.

"Woah," Bruce Banner stopped Tony by placing a hand on his chest and lightly pushing him back into a lying position. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"What do you mean?" Tony asked. He was confused and he could not remember how he had gotten to this brightly lit room. "What's going on?"

Tony took a good look at Bruce. His curly hair was messier than usual, he was wearing only a bath towel, and his skin was covered in a layer of dirt. He seemed distressed.

Then Tony stared down at himself. As soon as he lifted his head, he knew something was wrong. Pain shot throughout his system. His entire body hurt. He was wearing the same clothes that he remembered, but he was hooked up to beeping machines and he recognized the name of the heavy painkillers that were being emptied into his bloodstream. With shaking hands, he gingerly lifted his shirt and saw purple blotches discoloring his skin.

"You almost died, Tony." Bruce's voice was solemn and his face was serious.

The words perplexed Tony as he let hem of his shirt fall back into place, covering the bruises. Died? The last thing he remembered was eating breakfast. The breakfast that Anya had cooked…. Anya. Something had happened to her. He remembered worrying about her.

"Anya," he mumbled her name, his brow furrowing as he tried to recall what had happened to lead him here.

"She's fine," Bruce informed him. "You saved Anya from the Hydra agent who was trying to drown her."

Hydra? A flood of images surged through Tony's head and the situation became increasingly clearer as everything gradually started to make sense. Yes, he had rescued Anya and she was fine.

"Why are you naked?" Tony questioned his friend.

Bruce frowned, looking downward and away from Tony. His voice was unsteady, "I turned. We were under attack. I couldn't take it." Bruce squeezed his eyes shut and huffed, releasing all of the air from his lungs, his body deflating. "I couldn't fight Him," Bruce referred to his alter ego. "And Pepper—"

"Pepper!" Tony gasped, the heart monitor spiking. Her name had caused everything to come flooding back to him. He remembered watching her life slip away as he helplessly stood by. He had been able to remove the steel beam, but after that…he had blacked out. "Is she…," Tony's voice cracked as it trailed off, unable to say the dreaded words.

Bruce shook his head. "She's alive, Tony."

Relief swept over him. Pepper was alive.

"How is she?" He sputtered.

"She's doing better than you are."

The answer confused Tony. Pepper had almost been crushed to death. Surely, she must be direly injured.

Seeing the confusion on Tony's face, Bruce explained. "Anya saved her."

The answer only perplexed Tony more. "How is that possible?" he thought aloud.

Bruce shrugged. "I guess she has powers that she didn't tell us about."

Anya could move things with her mind. In the water, Anya had produced a force field to protect herself. And, she had saved Pepper? Brought her back to life?

Tony was far beyond thankful for what Anya had done, but he could not help but wonder, _who was this kid?_


	23. Chapter 23

Anya sat in one of the hard, uncomfortable chairs bouncing her knees up and down in nervousness. They were in the half of the facility that hadn't been blown up. Clint and Wanda were sitting to her right, talking quietly. Natasha came into the room and Anya looked up.

"Where's Pooka?" she asked Nat, her eyebrows coming together over her anxious violet eyes. Natasha shrugged and Anya jumped up, her body tense. She swayed as a wave of nausea came over her but managed to stay on her feet.

"Where do you think you're going?" Wanda demanded as Anya began walking away.

"I have to find Pooka," Anya breathed. Clint, Natasha, and Wanda exchanged confused looks. They knew she shouldn't leave but they also now knew that she could easily get past all of them. Anya managed to walk out into the sun and grass. She looked around and bit her lip.

"Pooka?! Pooka!" Anya screamed. She walked out a bit farther and narrowed her eyes. Suddenly she heard a bark in the distance. Anya began running towards the dog, hoping it wasn't a trap. Hydra could not take Pooka. He had information that would help the Avengers rebuild. She finally saw her white husky. He was lying on the ground, whimpering and Anya noticed how hurt Pooka was. She let a cry escape from her mouth and collapsed on the ground next to him. She put her hand on Pooka's wound and began doing what she did best. She began to heal Pooka. This wasn't half as hard as healing a human and therefore took on minimal effort. She was done within minutes. But she still felt the wave of nausea overcame her and she let the blackness that she had held off since healing Pepper overcome her. Pooka looked at his unconscious owner and willed himself to grow to twice his size so that he could carry her back to the safety of the other humans.


	24. Chapter 24

Pepper and Natasha stood outside together watching as a giant but recognizable husky trot across the field.

"Does Pooka look bigger to you?" Pepper asked Natasha out of the side of her mouth. Natasha nodded, her eyes looking suspicious. Pooka came closer and Natasha and Pepper realized that he was carrying someone on his back.

"What happened to Anya?" Natasha bit her lip and scanned the area. There was no sign of danger in the area. Pepper walked forward and took the unconscious girl off Pooka's back. The dog nodded at Pepper and shrunk down to his original size. Natasha walked over and took Anya's other side.

"I guess she has a self-destructive nature," Natasha said as she and Pepper carried Anya inside.

"Like father, like daughter. She's Tony's kid alright," Pepper replied glancing to where Bruce was helping Tony.


	25. Chapter 25

The only part of the facility that hadn't been blown to pieces by Hydra just so happened to be the infirmary. Three rooms were occupied by Tony Stark (who was in bad shape but would be fine), Anya Stark (who was slowly regaining her strength), and Steve Rogers (who was on a speedy recovery despite having been electrocuted). The rest of the team gathered in Tony's room to discuss what their next move should be.

"I'm not sure what Hydra wants with the kid but I'm sure they'll be back when they realize their mission failed," Tony said. The inability to move without causing himself pain made him feel completely useless.

"We could go to the Avengers Tower?" Natasha suggested.

"Too obvious," Tony replied.

"We could just stay here," Pepper offered. She stood by the head of the bed, running her fingers adoringly through Tony's hair.

"If anything, this is the first place Hydra will look." Tony surmised.

"How about Stark Mansion?" Steve Rogers had limped from his room and was now leaning against the doorway.

"No," Tony immediately shot down Steve's proposal. Though Tony had spent most of his life away at boarding schools and then college at 15, he did not wish to see his childhood home be blown up. It was the one place where he felt a connection to his deceased parents.

"We can go to the farm." Clint, who was standing against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, reckoned. "It's well-hidden and no one besides a handful of people-most of who are in this room-even knows that it exists."

"That puts your family in danger," Steve pointed out.

"It's a risk we will have to take," Clint said. "We'll stay there until we find somewhere else to go."

"That settles it," Tony concluded. "En-route to the farmer's house." He paused before remarking, "And can somebody please get Bruce some pants."

Bruce blushed a violent shade of pink and Natasha could not help but snort.

"I have an extra pair at home that might fit." Clint assured Bruce. "I'll get the helicarrier ready." Clint left the room, followed by Wanda and Natasha.

"I'm going to go try to find more towels," Bruce proclaimed, his cheeks still rosy as he shrugged out of the room.

"Pepper, can you go get Anya ready?" Tony asked her.

Pepper smiled and nodded, leaving Tony alone with Steve.

They stared at each other for a few seconds before Steve inclined his head and complemented Tony. "Nice work out there, Stark."

Tony was the man to lay himself on the wire.


	26. Chapter 26

Pooka left Tony Stark's room as quietly as he had entered it and made his way to Anya. She was sitting up in bed looking as nervous as ever. The minute Pooka entered the room, she burst off the bed.

"Well? What did they say? Please tell me we're staying away from Barton's farm," she demanded from her dog. Pooka whined and shook his head. Anya felt the color drain from her face. _They're trying to protect me_ , she thought. Well it's time someone protected them.

"Pooka we gotta go. Grab me something sharp and a pack of bandaids. I'll pack up here."

Pooka ran off and was back within seconds. He had a knife that had managed to survive the bomb and a roll of heavy bandages. Anya nodded. Pooka raised his head and whined to get Anya's attention. Someone was coming. She wouldn't have time to do what she needed to do and still get away. Anya bit her lip and thought for a second.

"Okay boy. We're gonna travel at the speed of light to a place where we can get lost: New York City."

She grabbed the knife and the bandages. Pooka curled his tail around her leg and looked up at her. _One more thing_ , she thought. She reached down and unclipped the flash drive from Pooka's tag and threw it onto the bed. She then closed her eyes and concentrated with all her might. She had only done this once before with Pooka and it was hard. She twisted her left hand and in a violet flash they disappeared just as Pepper entered the room. Pepper shielded her eyes from the bright light and then looked around. No Anya and no Pooka.

"Well crap," Pepper muttered her eyes focusing on the flash drive on the bed.


End file.
